Hey guys! Well here it is! Another chapter update might be a bit of a ways off, I'm going to be so busy. Things are going to get a bit hectic for me until May. I'm not saying that it'll be that long until the next chapter, but it's just a possibility.
Anyway, I wanted to give a little thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far. Here's hoping that you all keep reviewing in the future!
LadyKatana4544, Fennecfox03, AccessBlade, ElitaOne, OakTreeWoman, ninja-pirate-alchemist, FORD B, Nyghtshade, GrimlockX4
Really guys, thank you!
And before I forget, I also have another story up that kind of goes along with this one. Well it's kind of the " in between" story from the original Project Seven to the Soul Recon series. It's called Project Seven: Living with the Witwicky's. So check it out!
Anywho, here's my next chapter!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, but I DO own Cat and Five. They are mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine... mine mine mine... mine...
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"Hey guys, wait up!" Lennox yelled from down the hall.
Optimus and Ratchet were on their way to the med bay to wait for the others to gather back up so they could all examine the basement facility properly. Will was on his way back down to the basement before the two mechs caught his eye on the way, and he caught up to them. Ratchet and Optimus turned at the sound of Will's voice.
"Were you able to get anything out of her?" Ratchet asked sarcastically. He wasn't really expecting to hear what he wanted to hear, but it was always worth asking.
"No, she's holding back on me. Maybe she'll tell Sam or Mikaela and you can get it out of them later," Will smiled, "However, I did discover something else."
"And what would that be?" Optimus asked, curious.
Will sighed and looked up to his two friends, "I think maybe… you should let her train with those projectors…"
"You're not serious…" the medic looked on in shock, "Just a few moments ago, you agreed with us! What, in the pit, made you change your mind?"
"Well, I did talk with her. I offered her a recommendation to train with special ops training officers, and she turned it down. When I asked her why, she told me that the reason why she was using the projectors in the first place was that she's beyond the strength of a well trained human. She thinks that she needs to be up to a certain amount of strength… She's really the ultimate fighter in some ways…" he said softly.
Ratchet scoffed, "I should have seen this coming…"
"Why's that?" Optimus asked.
"She expressed that concern to me yesterday as well. I told her that we weren't waiting for her to become as strong as Five, but I had a feeling that she didn't see it the same way," the neon yellow mech's azure optics flickered in annoyance.
"Well, maybe she was programming them at too high of a level? We could always just see what the settings are like, and try changing them to safer levels," Will suggested, "She just doesn't want to feel useless if a Decepticon attacks. I can understand that."
Ratchet and Optimus looked to each other.
"I'd still rather dismantle it…" the medic muttered.
"I suppose we'll have to really look the projectors over to see if there really is a safe way for them to be used…" Optimus thought aloud.
"I think she'd really appreciate it," Lennox added.
"Appreciate what?" Jazz's calm voice questioned from down the hallway.
Will turned and saw Jazz, Ironhide and Prowl walking towards them.
"I was just telling these guys that I think Cat would like it if she were allowed to train with those projectors," Will explained.
"Is that wise?" Prowl looked to the leader and medic, "Jazz and Ironhide were explaining to me about why you were banning her from doing so."
"Will suggested the idea that we check to see if the system has features that would ensure Cat's safety. If so, then we could allow her to begin training again," Optimus explained.
"Well then, let's have a look at this facility," Prowl suggested.
"We may as well. It's the only place that we haven't been besides Cat's quarters, on this little tour," Ironhide mentioned.
"Well I would have preferred that we had Wheeljack here, but I suppose we can always call for him once he and the others return," Ratchet decided.
"Works for me," Lennox added, "I'd rather get a better look at all of this before getting back home, and I'd like to do that as soon as possible."
"You jes got here," Jazz queried," Why ya wanna leave so soon?"
"There's a couple people I'd like to get back to and appreciate," he smiled warmly.
"Well, let's see what we can do for now," Ratchet decided.
--
Back in the basement facility, Will was back in the observation booth, trying to figure out what computer system turned on which projector, while the others were scanning the room.
"I hate to say it, guys. But I think we should ask Cat for help…" Will announced over the intercom.
Before anyone could answer, Prowl looked up towards the booth and said, "Allow me."
Will looked from the mechs back to the computer screen and saw that it was working itself, flying through all of the program screens until it came upon an encrypted program. The password access warped from one character to the next as the code filled itself in. The screen flashed "Access Granted", and the three hidden projector boxes turned outwards from the wall, revealing themselves and activating. Will's wide eyes looked back to the screen where four different windows flashed "System ready", apparently waiting for their orders.
Will looked up over the computer screen at the mechs and asked, "Wait… Why didn't you two do that before?"
"We're not quite as gifted with wireless communication sensors as some are," Ratchet smirked.
"Well, he got the projectors up and running. Now all we need is the command codes to-" Will began to speak before he felt the ground shift under him.
The computer monitors on the table wiggled and shook, and Will quickly grabbed onto a nearby computer desk and held his ground as he practically waltzed over to the nearby doorway. He couldn't see the five mechs from where he was, but he was sure that they would hold up well during an earthquake… But something wasn't right…
Suddenly, a burst of blue light washed through the room, reaching Lennox quickly and overtaking everything around him. His heart was beating in his chest like a drum as a strange sensation tingled throughout his body.
"What's happening?!" Will yelled as he watched the ceiling lights burn out, and the computer monitors flicker on and off.
There was no reply from the mechs through his headset. The only thing he could hear was static and high-pitched screeching noises. He threw the headset on the ground and held on even tighter to the door frame, hoping that whatever this was would end soon. The bullet-proof glass that connected the booth to the training room cracked. It started as a small crack but quickly grew and eventually the whole window shattered, shards of the material flew to the ground.
Will got his wish when the blue light faded as suddenly as it appeared, and the ground stopped shaking. The flickering lights had shut off completely, as it took a few seconds for the few, small emergency lights to turn on. Will waited for a few second to make sure that there weren't going to be any aftershocks too soon after. He slowly made his way over to the shattered window.
"Guys? Everyone okay?" Will asked, worried that he hadn't received a response, "Optimus?! Ironhide?!"
Lennox made it to the window and looked down onto the floor of the training room, his eyes widened as he was taken back in shock.
There, on the ground, laid all five of the mechs. Their optics offline, the normal revving of their electrical systems silent. They, eerily, laid deathly still.
"Guys!" Will yelled, still getting no response.
This was definitely not a good sign…
--
-Ding-
Cat gasped as she turned towards the noise, not knowing what to expect, standing in a defensive position. The doors to the elevator that she had called for flew open, waiting for her to enter.
"But… That was just a dream, wasn't it? Why am I having the same dream?" she turned to looked out of the glass doors of the ground floor of the building. People were still running as if they were all in slow motion, screaming, but no sound coming out of their mouths.
"Weird…" Cat commented as she watched the scene outside.
Hearing the doors to the elevator begin to close, Cat decided that she was going to continue with her original mission to find Five. She quickly turned back around and held the doors open, stepping inside before they closed all the way. Cat pressed the button for the very top floor, remembering that from there, there was an exit to the rooftop.
Cat rode the elevator to the top floor, having no incidents on the way up. The doors to the elevator "dinged" as they flew open, Cat bolting from the small, box-like room and down the hall, finding the small set of stairs that led up to the roof. She crashed through the heavy, emergency door and tore out onto the rooftop. Taking in the sights in front of her, Cat instantly remembered where she found Five before. She ran to the opposite side and rounded on the tool shed finding-
Nothing.
"Five?" Cat called out, wondering what she had done wrong. This was where she had found her before wasn't it?
"NO!" Cat jumped when she heard Optimus' voice yell.
She ran over to the edge of the building and looked down, seeing the image of Sam using the Allspark to bring down Megatron. The giant, silver beast was brought down to the ground, his crimson optics fading. Sam and Optimus both approached the still form of Megatron slowly, seemingly unsure of what to think.
Cat watched the two carefully, before hearing a small "ping" on the ground next to her. She looked down to the little piece of smoking hot metal, blue sparks emitting from it every few seconds.
"What the…?" Cat questioned. She didn't know why, but she wanted to pick it up.
She knelt down, and gently ran her left hand's fingers over the object, feeling it's warmth. She, then, placed her fingers around the small, marble-sized piece of black metal and picked it up, holding it in the palm of her hand in front of her face.
"Why do I feel like… like I know this? Like I've done this before?" Cat asked herself, her mind racing.
"Don't you remember, Seven?" Five's voice had Cat turning on a dime where she stood.
Five was standing in front of Cat, looking just as healthy and fit as she was before Megatron had crushed her. She was smiling a warm, comforting smile. Cat was, needless to say, elated as well as confused at seeing her sibling. Before saying anything Cat looked to the ground where Five was standing, and saw the painted transmutation circle.
"What is this?" Cat asked.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Five frowned.
"I… I remember fusing… But I don't understand why we're here," Cat replied.
"Seven, when you and I were last here, we were both dying…" Five seemed to be coaxing Cat into trying to remember their last meeting while they were both alive.
"Yeah… I remember that -AH!" Cat flipped her wrist as she felt the small piece of metal burn into her palm. The metal piece was dropped to the ground, the blue sparks become more and more constant.
"Do you not recall what I had changed your transmutation circle of death into?" Five asked softly.
"Well yeah… You changed it into the fusion transfiguration…" Cat looked from her burned palm to the circle that Five had been standing in.
Five walked out of the circle and up to Cat. She stopped short of their noses being less than an inch apart. Cat took that moment to realize just how much alike their really looked. With the exemptions of Five's yellow eyes, verses Cat's blue ones; as well as Cat's prosthetic limbs verses Five's natural ones. Otherwise, they had the same dark brunette hair, they were the same height, and every other detail were distinctly the same.
Five bent down and picked up the piece of metal, "No, wait!" Cat started to scold her elder sibling, but noticed that the piece was having no effect on her.
Cat felt Five's other hand tug at her right arm, leading her towards the transmutation circle, a firm hold on the girl, but gently leading her.
"You don't remember everything that happened, little sister. If your mind settled on that memory, then you would remember that you were too weak to perform even your own transmutation," Five reminded as she brought Cat to the center of the blue painted circle.
"Yes… I remember being very weakened. I remember you dying, and me thinking that I wasn't too far behind you…" Cat thought back.
"How do you suppose that you were able to, eventually, activate the transmutation circle, then?" Five asked.
"I…" Cat was really thinking hard. She remembered Five dying, and she remembered waiting for her own death… But she couldn't think of how she had been able to use what little energy she had left to do what she had done. Not only that, but according to the Autobots, as well as Sam and Mikaela, almost an entire block of the city was affected. So the energy used for that spell was on that of a rather large scale.
"How did I do that, Five? Did… Did you somehow help me?" Cat looked up to her sister.
Five smiled, "No, Seven. You did it all on your very own. Well… mostly on your own. You were, in reality, only minutes away from death. This," she held up the small piece of metal between her thumb and forefinger at eye level, "is the reason that you were able to fuse your body with mine."
"What is it?" Cat asked, eyeing the jet black metal.
Five didn't answer. She only grabbed Cat's left hand and smiled saying, "You have gifts that you haven't even begun to explore little sis."
Cat only watched in confusion as Five dropped the metal into her left palm. Her eyes grew wide as the pain of the burn caused her to try and flip it from her hand, which didn't work this time. She looked to the object and saw that it seemed to just melt into her palm. Cat looked back up only to see that Five had disappeared. She spun around, looking for her older sister, but didn't see one single sign of her.
The pain in Cat's palm intensified, as she felt her whole body stiffen. Her face shot towards the sky as her eyes closed, feeling a power of unrecognizable force surge through her body. She couldn't take holding it in any longer.
"AHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, the force bursting from her body.
--
"Cram it, Sunny!" Sideswipe yelled in frustration.
"Aw, come on, Sides! Admit it! I have the best looking form!" the gleaming yellow Lamborghini gloated.
Wheeljack, Bluestreak, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had found what they were looking for. Having searched the computer for all the different kinds of sports cars, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were able to find information that led the four of them to Las Vegas, where there was one of many car conventions. And of course, as you all know, you can't have a sports car convention without a red and yellow Lamborghini.
"Help us out, here, Jack! Which one of us looks better?" Sunstreaker asked as they all sped towards the Dam, only a minute or two away from it now.
"Personally, I rather enjoy my own form. It's sufficient for the less than ideal weather situations."
"Less than ideal situations?" Bluestreak asked.
"From what I have surmised of Earth's weather, it can be difficult at times, which makes having the forms of sports cars a bit complicated. My understanding of it is that the Earth goes through, what the humans call, "seasons" in which sometimes it becomes so cold, that droplets of rain actually turn into bits of ice, called "snow"." Wheeljack explained.
"Snow?" Sideswipe asked.
"Yes. This area of Nevada does not usually see much of it, but if it becomes too much, it can cause forms, such as yours, to be disabled during such time. This "Ram" form can traverse such weather much easier," he finished.
"So…" Sunstreaker began, "Which of the two of us do you think looks better?"
Wheeljack was about to explain his theory again, before they all felt the ground shake beneath them. They all slid to a screeching halt as the road had quickly become unfit to drive upon.
"What is that?!" Bluestreak yelled.
Wheeljack struggled, as did the rest of them, to keep a firm grip on the ground with his alt form's tires and replied, "This might be what is called an "earthquake"!"
"How, in Primus, have the humans survived if their entire planet quakes?!" Sunstreaker asked.
"It's not the entire Earth that quakes at once! It is the shifting of tectonic plates beneath the ground, which causes certain areas to-"
"Look at that!" Sideswipe interrupted, all of them facing towards the Hoover Dam.
"Jack?" Bluestreak inquired, still struggling to maintain his balance.
"Now that… I don't have any idea…" Wheeljack countered, watching as the entire Dam was engulfed by the bright blue light.
--
"Guys?! Come on, wake up! Or… come back online, or whatever you do!" Will had bolted down the stairway from the surveillance booth and rejoined the Autobots in the training room. He was pacing back and forth between each of the five mechs, trying to find any sign of life. He couldn't tell much, both matters being because the emergency lighting was rather dim, and because he had no idea what it was that he could to reactivate an offline mech.
"Oh man… What do I do?!" he mentally kicked himself for not knowing how to fix them.
"Perhaps you can't do anything, but maybe I could aid you," Lennox turned at the sound of Wheeljack's voice.
The gray mech entered the training facility, looking around at the mechs that lay at his feet, shaking his head.
"Truly, whatever caused this was a source of near unlimited power proportions…" he knelt down to Ratchet first, scanning his superior's systems.
"Do you know what caused that?" Will asked, watching as Wheeljack overlooked Ratchet.
"I'm afraid not… But my first priority is to ensure that no one has been harmed, and to fix those who have been," Will watched as Wheeljack ran his scans over the others.
"Are… Are they dead?" Will asked.
Wheeljack turned and looked down to the human in front of him, "Dead?… Oh, I see. Dead, a human's meaning for no longer being in existence. No, they are not "dead". They have been temporarily knocked offline. That light must have overloaded their systems, but I cannot find the circuits that have been overloaded. It's almost as if whatever knocked them offline… repaired them."
"Well why didn't they come back online if they were repaired?" Will asked.
"They were repaired, but their systems need to reboot. Somewhat like when human healers use anesthetic to repair other humans, it takes time for Cybertronian systems to reboot after a repair," Wheeljack explained, a tool appearing in place of his hand as one of Ratchet's chest compartments opened.
Wheeljack worked on the medic for only a few seconds when Will saw the neon yellow mech's azure optics flicker back to life, his systems revving in response to the reboot. Ratchet sat up quickly, overlooking his surroundings, then looking up to the science officer.
"What, in Primus's name, happened?"
--
It took a little time, but after Ratchet and Wheeljack fixed up Optimus and the others, they began trying to make sense of what had happened. Bluestreak had helped the humans repair the base's transistors, giving life back to the lights, computers and communications.
"No one seems to be able to pinpoint where the energy source originated from. At least no one that I've spoken to so far. The only two areas who we haven't gotten word from yet are the med bay, and the armory," Wheeljack explained.
They got to the med bay first, and saw one of the on-staff doctors walked out.
"Doctor Peterson, good to see that you faired well. How is everyone else?" Ratchet asked.
The man sighed and replied, "I don't even know how to explain what's going on…"
"What do you mean?" Optimus asked.
"Well, it started not too long ago…" the doctor began to explain.
--
-Flashback-
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do…" Peterson sighed.
"That poor little thing," one of the nurses said remorsefully.
"Whoever was taking care of this animal before the girl found it, wasn't taking very good care of it at all. I suppose I'll give her a call. She'll probably want to know," the doctor stood up and walked towards his office when the form of Cat paraded into the smaller part of the med bay.
"Ah, there you are," Peterson caught sight of Cat before picking up the phone.
"Were you looking for me?" Cat asked.
"I was just about to call up to your room… I'm afraid that the animal you brought in didn't make it," he said softly.
Cat frowned and looked to the little animal, laying on a med bay table.
"I was afraid we might have been too late…" her facial features softened mournfully at the creature.
Peterson was about to say something to try to make sense of the animal's death, but he noticed the look of fatigue on Cat's face.
"You haven't fully rested," Cat's head turned to give the doctor a narrowed-eyed glance, "Maybe you should stay for a little while to catch up on some sleep?"
Cat glared at the human for a few seconds but then looked away, "All right… Just a nap… But don't you tell Ratchet that I'm here because I'm sick, or something!"
Peterson gave Cat an indignant look and replied, "I don't lie…"
Cat watched the doctor walk back to his office and slam the door. She walked over to a cot, and laid down. For some reason, her eyes felt heavy with the need for sleep, and her body relaxed, already unconscious.
-End Flashback-
--
"A few moments later, one of the nurses noticed that the kid was tossing and turning in her sleep. We tried to get her to wake up, but she only became more forceful against us… When I made to grab her left hand, I noticed that there was a fresh burn in her palm. It was strange…" Peterson explained.
"What was strange?" Will asked, not liking the look on the doctor's face.
"Well, that's when that blue light shot out of her body and overtook us for a moment. Our computer systems failed, the lights went out, but when everything was said and done, the emergency systems somehow reacted, and the lights turned on. That's when I saw it…"
"Saw what?" Ratchet asked.
Before he could answer, a small, black blur raced from the open door of the med bay. It wheeled around Peterson and ran straight into Lennox's foot. Will bent down and scooped up the little ball of fur and brought it up to his face. The little pup licked at his face, squirming around with the energy of a completely healthy animal.
"That's what I saw," the doctor pointed to the pup.
"It seems to have made a full recovery," Wheeljack commented, astonished.
"Yeah… It really took us all by surprise," he crossed his arms and frowned.
"What about Catherine?" Optimus asked, the other mechs looking to the doctor as well.
"Well, we did what we could, but she didn't respond to any of our medications, not even the paddles," the doctor explained.
"Paddles?" Will asked, "You mean you shocked her?"
"Well yes, her heart stopped… I'm sorry to say that she died…" Peterson said sadly.
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Chapter Teaser!
"Well, I was sort of hoping you guys might like to take care of this little guy for a while," Will cringed, he was sure that one of Sam's parents would intervene sometime soon.
"Uh… Well…" Sam cringed as well, because he heard his father's footsteps approaching.
"What "little guy"?" Ron asked sarcastically.
"I thought you were watching the game?" Sam asked.
"Commercial break… Oh no, no way. That thing's one of the big ones!" he pointed out.
"Well… He's not big now. And I'd just need you to take care of him for a little while. A few days at most. Just until things settle down. I'd take him home, but I'm sure Sarah and I would have trouble getting Annie to let go of it later," Will explained.
"Where'd you find him?" Sam asked.
"I didn't find him, Cat did," Will said softly.
"Well, why isn't she taking care of it?" Ron asked, watching Sam scratch the pup's ears. Meanwhile, Mojo was growling in protest to this new animal's interference.
"Well… Some things happened while I was at the base and -uh…" Will's voice trailed off.
"What things?" Sam stopped petting the small dog, noticing Will's lack of words.